I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Google (Seattle, WA) in Mar 2016
Interview
Pros:
- Received a recruiter email to setup a phone screen within 2 weeks of submitting resume
Cons:
- phone screen interview is pretty fixed, jumps straight into the questions within 45 min timeframe.
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Google (Mountain View, CA) in Apr 2016
Interview
Google Recruiter reached out to me. I had a phone screen with the recruiter which is primarily experience based.
Once that's done you have 1 phone screen with a Product Manager.
If you clear that, you're asked onsite for a round of interviews. It usually involves speaking to 3-5 interviewers.
There can be a technical round, but it looks like in recent times most of the interviews have been very product focused. The email I got from the recruiter said that it's unlikely that you'll be asked algorithm questions (but it's best to be prepared anyway).
I had 3 interviews + 1 lunch interview which is totally non evaluative.
On the whole the process is quite fun and the people were really nice.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Phone Interview:
1) Design a Washer and Dryer - You need to ask the interviewer questions about who the users would be. When I asked him, he said "The same sort of people who would buy a nest thermostat (Younger, more tech savvy and somewhat affluent).
2) How would you measure the success of Apple's WWDC event (This year vs Last Year). Note: The key here is to discern the difference between the event itself being better vs Apple releasing cooler stuff this year thereby getting more press coverage etc.
3) How would you improve Youtube
Onsite:
1st Interview:
1) Latest trends in technology
2) What are the network implications of a handheld device meant for elementary schools kids
3) If Google has invented a way to make air travel 4x cheaper and 4x faster, what would you do with this technology?
2nd Interview:
1) Design an app for the dmv
2) Explain recursion to my grandma
3) You have an ecommerce site in Spain and you've just localized this and now see that traffic has reduced. What could be the reasons.
4) Give me 3 features you like about your favorite google product and 3 that you would improve.
3rd Interview:
1) How would you improve throughput of an airport by 100%
2) You've done all this stuff to improve throughput , what are the implications for the airport itself
3) How much storage space is required to host all the images of Google street view.
4) You see starbucks' on either side of the road sometimes, why do you think Starbucks Corp does this?
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Google (New York, NY) in Mar 2015
Interview
Was referred by a Google employee. Brought onsite for lunch and and a 1:1 chat. Phone interview with hiring manager. Of course, any visit to the Google offices is exciting, and is designed to make you want to work there even more than you already do. Phone interview with hiring manager was pleasant enough. My situation was unique as I was deciding whether to shutter my own startup to sign on with Google.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
If you could redesign the NYC transit system without limitations, what would you do?